U.S. stocks tumbled, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the steepest drop since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy and declining commodities increased speculation that credit-market losses and the economic slowdown will worsen.
Lehman plunged 94 percent and American International Group Inc. sank 61 percent after more than $25 billion in losses from subprime-related investments in the last four quarters made with mostly borrowed money. Economic concerns pushed down oil, prompting a drop in energy stocks, and sent General Electric Co. to an 8 percent retreat. Stocks erased more than $600 billion in value as financial shares in the S&P 500 decreased the most since at least 1989, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
